This has been a very emotional time as my friends the Jensen's said goodbye to Texas and to New Hope. The impact this family has had on my life is eternal. Tears flowed as I said goodbye to them at church one recent Sunday. Then something surprising happened and God really spoke to me bringing me comfort. I googled Alexis Rose Washington name as I have often done. Most the time when I enter Alexis Rose Washington my website, her Facebook, and articles in the Wylie News come up but for the first time Alex Jensen's obituary appeared as I googled Alexis' name. The reason she appeared in his obituary was because Alexis left a message in his guestbook back in 2004. I think this was a sign to me from God. I believe HE is saying that HE will use and already has used Alexis' death to save many people just like HE used the tragic death of Alex to save me and many many others. I love how he brings comfort to me when my heart is breaking. I love how Romans 8:28 always works through all our lives.
Here is the impact the Jensen's had on my life as well as a letter they wrote to me. God is the Master Weaver weaving our lives together in intricate amazing ways. He often weaves through sorrow and although I can only see the underside of HIS masterpiece there will be a time HE will show me the pattern HE planned for my life and I will understand the why of it all but for now I just must trust HIM:
They have been a part of the church for almost a decade. God used this family to draw me close to Himself. God used the death of their son Alex to save me. Watching them walk out their tragic loss changed me forever. I never knew there could be hope after the loss of a child , I never knew you could smile and talk about your loss, I never knew you could heal from that kind of pain, and I especially never thought anything good could come from tragedy but God used the Jensen's to change how I viewed life and to change me. As a result of their faith and walk I began my own journey in 2005 so I am forever grateful for the impact they have had on my life and the lives of my children. Then when tragedy struck again I was so blessed when they arrived at the hospital very soon after Alexis died and helped us , comforted us through our loss . And I will never forget feeling so shattered and scared on June 7, 2012 as the old tapes of how my family dealt with the death of my brother played through my mind . We were sitting in Jill Crowe's family room planning Alexis' funeral . It was as if Kerri could read my thoughts. She looked at me and said "Susan you are not going to handle this the way your parents handled the death of your brother David, you will handle this in a healthy way and grieve, You have God to lean on and HE will get you through" it was as if her words breathed new life and hope into my breaking heart. She was right and is so wise. So my heart is breaking as they move on to a new beginning and I wish them the best. I honestly don't know where I would be if God hadn't brought them into our lives back in the summer of 2004. How ironic that it was through Alexis meeting Beth at a volleyball camp and the relationship was deepened through Sammy and Alex playing on the same sports teams . God knew what HE was doing through these connections and tragedies . He was using them for good to save many lives and I'm sure Alex and Alexis are smiling down from heaven. So I wish my friends the best of luck as God moves them to California and am eternally grateful for their influence in my life. As I have said I honestly don't know where I would be if I hadn't witnessed Jesus shining through them. Thank you Jesus!!! And as I went to the front of the church to hug them and thank them a girl stopped me and told me she was grateful for me, her name is Megan and she said she heard me speak years ago and that my testimony impacted her and this month she has 6 years clean from drugs. I love how God pays it forward so powerfully through our lives and I thought if not for the Jensen's touching my life I wouldn't have touched Megan's . It is an amazing domino effect of saving lives Forever Grateful to God and to the Jensen's.
The letter the Jensen's wrote me a month before my Alexis died :
We have known Susan Washington for more than 8 years. We first met her when our children began playing sports together. Our son, Alex, was especially close to Susan’s son, Sammy. Sammy and Alex played together on a local Wylie football team for 5th and 6th graders. As we got to know Susan, we began reaching out to her, casually inviting her to church on occasions, but she always had ‘other plans ‘or work obligations.
Just after Christmas in 2004, we lost our 12-year-old son Alex in a tragic skiing accident while vacationing in Colorado. This was one of the most defining moments of our lives as a family. We quickly realized that the important aspects of Alex’s short 12 years of life here on earth boiled down to the people and relationships he had poured himself into. First, Alex had a relationship with God, and out of that he truly loved other people. And so we found ourselves doing the same thing. We got up each day, relied on our relationship with God, and poured our lives into others. It gave us meaning. It gave us life. We continued to reach out to Susan. Offering simple friendship was all we really had to give.
Over the following weeks and months after Alex’s death, we began to see a remarkable difference in Susan’s life. Previously Susan had been cold to the idea of sharing the deeper things of life, or even just going with us to church or a small group. Susan began opening up and sharing more and more with us as time progressed. Eventually, she opened up and shared how she had fallen into alcohol and drug abuse that led to her incarceration. We listened, offered her a hug, and loved her. It wasn’t until a few years later, when Susan began to share her story with others, that we fully understood the impact that our family had on her life.
Only after Susan began sharing her story publicly did we realize the weight of the pain that she had been carrying from her childhood. She shared with us that after Alex died, she was certain that our family would fall apart the same way her family fell apart when she was a child.
Susan’s story is one of tragedy, like so many others, but the incredible difference is how Susan changed the trajectory of her life into one with such a bright future. She’s still working through things in life, like all of us have to, but we are so proud of Susan and how she’s chosen to pursue a different course.
It’s been amazing to watch the transformation in Susan’s life. We are blessed that God used us in some small way. In the end, God did everything, but we are truly blessed that our lives and our story had an impact in her life along the way.
Susan’s story is one of powerful transformation and redemption. It will encourage you and give you hope that you can truly overcome life’s greatest struggles and tragedies. You can find purpose and meaning behind your past hurts and use them to help others and make the world a better place.
We love you Susan!
Dan & Kerri Jensen